XPost: rec.arts.books.tolkien, alt.fan.tolkien   
   From: no.spam@no.spam   
      
   Does posting a Tolkien parody by definition constitute disrespect   
   for the Master and his works?   
      
   My thesis is, not necessarily.   
      
   In the preface of (for me) the funniest and best Tolkien spoof,   
   _Bored of the Rings_ the authors profess respect for Tolkien   
   and his works despite their humorous mangling of the story.   
      
   Also many other works of satire have appeared on Usenet. I myself   
   am among the perpetrators.   
      
   However in article "Re: Using the ring in Iran" Noel Q. von Schneiffel   
   speaks out against:   
      
    > bad jokes and blasphemous mockery... ritualistic, heretical   
    > bashing of Tolkien's greatness... nonsensical blathering   
      
   How then can a work of satire be evaluated for its content of, and   
   if present, degree of mockery, blasphemous or otherwise?   
      
   The answer is subtle and hard to describe with precision. American   
   judge Potter Stewart was unable to formulate a definition of   
   pornography, but declared that "I know it when I see it."   
      
   So do Noel and other Honorable Members of these forums know heretical   
   bashing when they see it, distinguishing it from legitimate satire?   
   Or can there be such a thing as legitimate Tolkien satire at all?   
      
   My own personal test is simply that I quit reading material if it   
   becomes tedious and boring. Therefore if a spoof is short and to   
   the point I'm more likely to read it all and get a good laugh than if   
   it goes on and on... and yet _BotR_, of pocket book length was (mostly)   
   funny all the way through, so go figure.   
      
   Another thing to consider is that JRRT's works are of such magnitude   
   that they can afford to laugh at rivals and satires, secure in their   
   greatness and immeasurable strength.   
      
   In other words a meerkat may bleat at a rhinoceros, but it still remains   
   a rhinoceros. --[Kalahari Bushman saying of my own recent invention]   
      
   Anyway I recently announced an intention to inflict some reposts of   
   my own attempts at Tolkien parody on alt.books.inklings. This threat   
   was met with silence from all quarters, indicating either quiet dissent   
   or total indifference. Therefore to make them easier to ignore I will   
   include "[AFT repost]" in the titles.   
      
   SQ   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)